As the Internet has become widely used and information services are provided through networks, the communication network occupies an important place in social infrastructure. With the increase in Internet access from homes and business locations of companies, faster and higher-capacity access lines are increasingly required to interconnect these communication sites and communication stations of carrier networks.
In access networks that are connected to a wide area network, there is a passive optical network (PON) in which a plurality of subscriber terminals can share an optical fiber. A passive optical network (PON) system can be installed at user's sites.
The passive optical network (PON) system can be an access network suitable for delivering the same service information to a plurality of user terminals. The passive optical network (PON) system is drawing attentions recently, particularly for the broadcasting industry seeking to enter into the network business for the triple-play service (broadcasting, telephone, and data communications).
Access or transport networks are merging, becoming predominantly packet switched, and synchronization is becoming a very important performance requirement. Particularly for 3G- and 4G long term evolution (LTE) backhaul applications, dense deployment of radio towers represents a high cost Global Positioning System (GPS) frequency standards to radio operators.
The passive optical network (PON) represents a very economical access medium. With the introduction of IEEE802.1AS (Clause 13), there is a new synchronization technique involving special new features. However, such synchronization technique is expensive and risky for upgrades due to high equipment costs, downtime, SW development, etc.
Synchronization for Time of Day (ToD) is becoming a major requirement in some passive optical network (PON) markets since IEEE 1588 over passive optical network (PON) performs poorly. These passive optical network (PON) markets can be related to cellular tower backhaul, femto-cell deployments, Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON), and Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON).
Thus, a need still remains for a network system with synchronization mechanism. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.